Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-01-25
DOMINION OVER WILD ANIMALS
The Ease with Which Unsrmed Men
Subdue Beasts in Menageriess

The Ease with Which Unsrmed Men
Subdue Beasts in Menageriess
Those who have carefully observed the
management of wild animals in men-
agerieS, geological gardens and III the pens
of the animal dealers must at times have
been astonished at the ease with which
hired men, comparatively unarmed, sub
due beasts which We have been taught
yield only to the blazing rife, and fight
gamely until death. A lion escapes from
his cage and CrouChes at the darkened end
of the menagerie Remembering the stories
We have read of the terOCity of this beast
and of the terrible scenes at the lion hunt,
we can imagine Ouly one mode of action.
The keepers should arm themselves with
rifles, hide behind barriers, and open a
rapid fire upon him To our surprise, they
don't do this. They simply wheel great
cage up To him, fall upon him with clubs,
and thrash away until he enters it.
A few weeks ago an anaconda seven
teen feet long broke away while being
carried across public park in New York
city. With vivid pictures of the exploits
of this reptile in the Amazon watershed
before our eyes. we expect to see him fall
upon the nearest human being, enfOld him
in his tolls and crush him to II jelly.
Surely il will take armed and resOlute
men to capture him, No; on the con
trary. this is not required. and it must
have been with feeling irkin 20 disap-
p0intment that those who had read of the
ferncity Of the anaconda saw one man
armed only with a blanket, advance and
seize him 10y the throat, while two others,
also unarmed, grasp his tail, and then the
trio, still holding on, carry him through
the streets and thrust him back into the
den whence he had been taken.
Not long since the writer saw Mr..
Thomson. dealer in live animals, open a
box containing an anaconda. quite as long
~ this one, take the reptile by the throat
and calmly examine his mouth, opened
though il was in rage, To look for cancer
Ous humOrs. Then from adjoining shelves
he took python after python, each about
ten feet long, and examined them in like
manner. At the place of another dealer
iReiChe,. big. powerful Syrian bear, n
type known for its ferOcity, was subdued
without the firing of shot The bear
broke through iron bars half an inch
thick, and. standing up with his back
against a cage of monkeys, thrust his ter.
rible paws threateningly toward three
keepers gathered about him. He didn't
have chance To use them, however, for
he was belabOrsd with clubs until glad to
get back again into his cage.
On pedestal near the gate of the Gin
cinnati Geological gardens there recently
stood the stuffed figure of donkey which,
when alive. withstood the attack of u lion
and beat him off The lion, it seems, had
broken ont of his cage and escaped TO a
wood near by. On grassy hillOck, ad-
joining, a donkey lay stretched in placid
slumber-a slumber that was rudely dis
turbed by the lion. who in a few bounds,
was upon him When the donkey felt
the great mass of flesh descend upon him
as if from the clouds, he was stunned and
indignant, but not frightened, perhaps be
cause he had never read any of the won
derful stories about the lion. He quickly
recovered from the blow, and, rising, shot
out both hind feet at the same time, and
caught the lion squarely in the forehead
Badly hurt, the lion skulkei of, and
later the donkey died Of the wound he re
ceived at the onset-Scientitic American